skydiving

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Man Trained Skydivers Without Certification—Until 2 Died

California's Robert Pooley sentenced to 2 years in prison for wire fraud

(Newser) - A former California skydiving instructor who trained more than 100 skydivers after his instructor certification was suspended is headed to prison. Robert Pooley of Acampo obtained ratings as a "tandem examiner" with the US Parachute Association (USPA) and United Parachute Technologies (UPT) in 2010 but had his certification suspended...

What It's Like to Fall 14K Feet and Live
What It's Like to
Fall 14K Feet
and Live
longform
Jul 21, 2024 6:50 AM CDT

What It's Like to Fall 14K Feet and Live

'The girl who fell from the sky' tells her story

(Newser) - In June 2013, Emma Carey and her lifelong best friend, Jemma Mrdak, were 20-year-olds traveling through Europe after graduating from their Australian high school. Part of the experience was tandem skydiving in Switzerland, jumping out of a helicopter 14,000 feet up with skydiving instructors strapped to their backs. Jemma'...

7 People on Skydiving Flight Escape Plane Before It Crashes

Plane, however, was a total loss in Missouri accident

(Newser) - A small plane crashed into a Missouri field Saturday afternoon, but all seven people on board survived, thanks to the fact that they were on what the National Transportation Safety Board terms a "skydiving mission" at the time. The pilot and all six passengers parachuted out of the single-engine...

106-Year-Old Reclaims Skydiving World Record

Texas man Al Blaschke's earlier record was broken by a Swedish 103-year-old

(Newser) - A Texas man born 14 years after the Wright Brothers' first flight has reclaimed his record as the world's oldest skydiver. Guinness World Records has confirmed that Al Blaschke, who turned 107 in January, broke a record in November last year with a skydive when he was 106 years...

Balloon Pilot in Fatal Crash Had Ketamine in System

Four people were killed when it went down in Arizona in January

(Newser) - An autopsy reveals that the pilot of a hot-air balloon that crashed in the Arizona desert and killed four people had elevated levels of ketamine in his system, reports NBC News . Cornelius van der Walt, 37, and three passengers were killed when the balloon went down in January . While US...

A Week After Her Last Skydive, Woman Dies at 104

Chicago woman Dorothy Hoffner took up hobby at 100

(Newser) - Just a week after she made headlines when she went skydiving at age 104, Dorothy Hoffner died at home while sleeping Sunday overnight into Monday. The Chicago woman, who never married or had children, referred to nurse Joe Conant, 62, as her grandson, and Conant tells the New York Times...

TikTok Influencer's First Skydive Ends in Tragedy

Tanya Pardazi, 21, died during jump outside Toronto last month

(Newser) - On Aug. 29, a statement from Skydive Toronto announced the death two days earlier of a 21-year-old skydiving student, citing "fatal injuries obtained from an emergency situation." It didn't identify the student, but now her name is out, and it's a fairly well-known one: Tanya Pardazi,...

Pro Skydiver Dies After Landing in Pond

He was practicing for the national championships

(Newser) - A professional skydiver practicing for the sport's national championships died Sunday when he landed hard in a Wisconsin pond. The 36-year-old and other skydiving pros were doing training runs at Skydive Midwest, near Racine, where the US Parachute Association National Championships are set to start this Saturday, USA Today...

They Tried to Swap Planes Midair. It Didn't Quite Work

FAA probing Sunday stunt in Arizona, which led to one plane crashing; both pilots are OK

(Newser) - Update: The Federal Aviation Administration has launched a probe into a failed stunt in the sky. Cousins Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, daredevil Red Bull skydivers who'd hoped to swap Cessna single-seat airplanes in midair, didn't see their feat go as planned on Sunday: One of the pilots...

9 Killed in Skydiving Plane Crash
9 Killed in
Skydiving
Plane Crash
Jul 9, 2021 4:38 AM CDT

9 Killed in Skydiving Plane Crash

DHC-2 Beaver crashed near runway in Sweden

(Newser) - A small plane carrying skydivers crashed outside the Swedish city of Orebro on Thursday night, killing all nine people on board, police said. The dead included the pilot and eight passengers. The victims were members of a local skydiving club, according to Orebro County Governor Maria Larsson. Spokesperson Carl-Johan Linde...

NTSB: Skydiving Plane That Crashed Wasn't 'Airworthy'

Aircraft was damaged before pilot pushed it on takeoff, leading to 11 deaths

(Newser) - A pilot's aggressive takeoff led to an aerodynamic stall, causing the 2019 crash of a skydiving plane in Hawaii that killed all 11 people on board, government safety investigators have determined. The National Transportation Safety Board said the stall caused a loss of control at an altitude that was...

Vermont Farmer Finds a Needle in a Haystack

Though in this case, the needle is a prosthetic leg

(Newser) - A Vermont skydiver who lost his prosthetic leg during a jump has it back, thanks to a farmer who kept an eye out for it and spotted it in a soybean field. Double amputee Chris Marckres of Hyde Park went for a jump Saturday at Vermont Skydiving Adventures in West...

Teen's First Skydive Was Also Her Last

Jeanna Triplicata, instructor Nick Esposito die in Georgia

(Newser) - Jeanna Triplicata's parents and siblings gathered to see the 18-year-old complete her first skydive on Sunday. They then watched from the ground in Thomaston, Ga., as Triplicata and veteran skydive instructor Nick Esposito somersaulted in the sky, a parachute spinning wildly behind them. "Upon exiting the aircraft, the...

103-Year-Old Dives Right Out of the Sky

Al Blaschke said he wasn't doing it for himself

(Newser) - Falling from 14,000 feet up is hair-raising enough, but doing it at 103? "I never thought I would be around this long," Al Blaschke told ABC News after making his Guinness World Records-breaking leap with two grandsons. Blaschke, who tied the record back in 2017 at age...

Skydiving Accident Takes Life of 28-Year-Old Woman

She hit a big rig on a highway

(Newser) - As a group of seven skydivers descended near California's Lodi Airport on Thursday afternoon, something went terribly wrong. A 28-year-old woman died after she was apparently blown off course amid windy conditions that affected her open parachute, reports the Washington Post . She hit a big rig on a highway...

British Tourist Dies in Grand Canyon Skydiving Accident

Pair 'encountered difficulties' during tandem jump

(Newser) - Another Grand Canyon tragedy: Authorities say a British tourist died in a skydiving accident near the canyon Sunday morning. Police say 55-year-old Christopher Swales was fatally injured after he and his skydiving partner, an instructor at a local skydiving center, "encountered difficulties" during a tandem jump, the BBC reports....

'I Don't Know How a Person Can Survive a Fall Like That'

Skydiver hurt but expected to live after chute doesn't open during 5,000-foot plummet

(Newser) - She fell nearly 5,000 feet to the ground from a plane during a skydiving jump after her parachute failed to open, but by some "miracle," a 30-year-old woman in Canada is still alive, with non-life-threatening injuries. "I don't know how a person can survive a...

Witnesses Saw Skydivers Try to Jump Before Deadly Crash

9 killed in Sweden accident

(Newser) - Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a plane crash that killed eight parachutists and their pilot in Sweden on Sunday. Witnesses say they heard a loud noise before the single-engine GippsAero GA8 Airvan plunged nose-down into Storstarskar island, the Local reports. Some witnesses say they saw skydivers try...

Skydiving Instructor Killed Self During Tandem Jump

Student landed safely after Brett Bickford fell from loosened harness

(Newser) - A skydiving instructor who fell to his death during a tandem jump in Maine in September intentionally loosened his harness in what authorities now say was a suicide. Brett Bickford, an instructor at Skydive New England for 10 years, was doing a tandem jump with a student in Lebanon on...

Sergeant Convicted in Wild Case of Parachute Sabotage

Emile Cilliers wanted to start new life with lover, prosecution alleged

(Newser) - Victoria Cilliers, an experienced parachuting instructor, knew as soon as she jumped during what was supposed to be a celebratory skydiving trip with her husband in 2015 that something was not right. "The lines were twisted. I was spinning," she testified in court in London, where a jury...

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